South Africa warns Palestinians in Gaza face famine and asks court to order all parties to cease hostilities.
South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order additional emergency measures against Israel over its war on Gaza, the court has ruled.
In its application, South Africa warned that Palestinians in Gaza were facing famine and asked the court to order all parties to cease hostilities and release all hostages and detainees.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the South African presidency warned that the people of Gaza cannot wait.
“The threat of widespread famine has now materialized. The Court must act now to end the impending tragedy by immediately and effectively ensuring that the rights it has found to be at risk under the Genocide Convention are protected,” he added.
South Africa also asked the court to order that Israel take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance urgently needed to combat famine and famine” in Gaza.
He said the ICJ, also known as the World Court, should take these steps without scheduling a new round of hearings due to the “extreme urgency of the situation.”
Famine threatens
The United Nations has warned that widespread famine in the Gaza Strip is “almost inevitable” if no action is taken.
Humanitarian organizations have blamed the food shortage in the enclave, which has been besieged and attacked by Israel since October, on military operations, insecurity and extensive restrictions on the delivery of essential supplies.
The five-month-old war has killed more than 30,000 people in the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza health officials.
At least 20 people have died of malnutrition and hunger in Gaza since the launch of the Israeli assault, Palestinian authorities said.
The number of humanitarian aid convoys entering Gaza daily must at least double to meet some of the population’s most basic needs, the World Food Program (WFP) said on Wednesday.
“I would say we need to double the level we have now. We are now at around 150 trucks. We need a minimum of 300 trucks per day,” Carl Skau, deputy executive director and chief operating officer of the World Food Program, told the Reuters news agency.
“But of course this will also have to be supplemented in the long term with commercial (supplies).”
In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that might fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure that its troops do not commit any acts of genocide against Palestinians, after South Africa accused Israel’s state-led genocide in Gaza.
Israel called the allegation baseless.
Wednesday’s request is the second time Pretoria has asked the court for additional measures – its first request to pressure Israel to end an offensive against the Gaza town of Rafah in February was rejected.
A final decision in the case in The Hague could take years.